Monroe Timeline

1758 – April 28, born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on the Northern Neck1774-76 – Attended the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia1776 – Joined the Continental Army’s Third Virginia Infantry Regiment1776– December 26, wounded at the Battle of Trenton1778– December, wintered at Valley Forge,1778– June 28, fought at the Battle of Monmouth1779– January, resigned from the Continental Army; received appointment to lieutenant colonel by Virginia legislature1780 – Studied law under Governor Thomas Jefferson in Richmond1782 – Member of Virginia House of Delegates1783-86 – Delegate to Confederation Congress1786 – February 16, married Elizabeth Kortright; practiced law in Fredericksburg; November or December, birth of Eliza1787-89 – Member of the Virginia House of Delegates1788 – Member of Virginia Convention to ratify the U. S. Constitution; purchased farmland in Albemarle, Virginia1790-94 – Served as United States Senator from Virginia1793 – Purchased “Highland” plantation adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello1794-96 – Minister to France for President George Washington1799 – May, birth of James Spence; November 23, family moved to Highland1799-1802 – Served as Governor of Virginia for three consecutive one-year terms1800 – September 28, death of James Spence; Gabriel’s Rebellion1802 – Birth of Maria Hester1803 – Envoy to France to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase1803-07 – Minister to England and Spain for President Jefferson1804 – December, arrived in Spain to negotiate the purchase of Florida1808 – September, marriage of Eliza to George Hay at Highland1810-11 – Served as a member of Virginia House of Delegates1811 – January to April, served as Governor of Virginia1811-17 – Beginning in April 1811, served as Secretary of State for President James Madison1814-15 – September 1814 to March 1815, served as Secretary of War for President Madison1817 – October 17, laid cornerstone of Pavilion VII, the University of Virginia’s first structure1817-25 – Served as President of the United States; his presidency became known as the “Era of Good Feelings”1820 – March 9, marriage of Maria Hester in the White House1823 – December 2, delivered speech known as the “Monroe Doctrine” in his address to Congress, declared as the first U.S. foreign policy1826-31 – Served as a member of Board of Visitors, University of Virginia1828 – Sold Highland to the Bank of the United States1829 – President of the Virginia Constitutional Convention1830 – September 23, death of Elizabeth Kortright Monroe1831 – July 4, death of James Monroe in New York City1858 – James Monroe’s body re-interred at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia